Georgia Today: VP Harris headed to GA; World's busiest airport; Big crowd in Augusta for The Masters

Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast from GPB News. Today is Wednesday, April 5. I'm Peter Biello. On today's episode: The vice president is headed back to town. New data on the world's busiest airport is released and you might not be surprised which one it is. And speaking of busy places, Agusta is drawing big crowds for the Masters. We'll have that story and more coming up on this edition of Georgia Today.

Story 1

Peter Biello: Vice President Kamala Harris is coming to Dalton tomorrow to tout the White House's plans for green energy GPB's Stephen Fowler has this preview.

Stephen Fowler: The vice president will tour a Qcells solar panel manufacturing plant at Dalton, the largest such facility in the Western Hemisphere, as that company is building more plants across Northwest Georgia. Georgia's role in green energy and electric vehicle production has grown in recent years, with both Democrats and Republicans touting the investments. Case in point: On Wednesday, both President Joe Biden and Gov. Brian Kemp applauded news from automaker Kia that its newest electric vehicle, the EV 9, would be built at the West Point, Ga., factory and is expected to use batteries made at a plant coming in Bartow County. For GPB News, I'm Stephen Fowler.

Story 2

Peter Biello: About 50 dollar store, restaurant, and other service workers picketed the regional office of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration in Atlanta yesterday to demand safer working conditions. This after the agency announced millions of dollars in fines against Dollar General for workplace safety violations over the past year. Dollar General says the company is committed to providing a safe working environment for its workers. Gerald Green works for Waffle House and was part of the picket organized by the Union of Southern Service Workers.

Gerald Green: At Waffle House, I personally had people yell at me, cuss at me. I've had people throw food and plates, and a coworker of mine, Jesse, was actually shot there at Waffle House. It was something that really convinced me that things need to change around Waffle House.

Peter Biello: Waffle House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Caption

A view of a flag at a hole on Augusta National Golf Course during The Masters Tournament.

Credit: File

Story 3

Peter Biello: The 2023 Masters Golf Tournament officially gets underway tomorrow and fans from all over have arrived in Augusta. That makes for a busy time at the Augusta Airport, as GPB's Devon Zwald reports.

Devon Zwald: The Augusta Regional Airport saw nearly 4,200 arrivals and departures last year during the Masters' 10-day travel period. Herbert Judon, the airport's executive director, says that's the number they typically see in a month. This year, he says, the airport has some additional infrastructure to deal with the increased volume, including more paved surfaces to park private aircraft.

Herbert Judon: It's primarily to serve our day-to-day customers, but to be very honest with you, almost every decision that we make relative to our operation, we we take into account the Masters. You know, although it's just a week or two a year, it is — it's extremely important.

Devon Zwald: He says the region is growing and they expect the airport to improve even more in the next two years. For GPB News, I'm Devon Zwald.

Story 4

Peter Biello: Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson has retained its title as the world's busiest airport. Data released this morning by the industry group Airports Council International World shows more than 93 million passengers passed through ATL last year. That is nearly a quarter more than the year before, but it still lags behind pre-pandemic levels. Dallas-Fort Worth Airport took the No. 2 spot with more than 73 million passengers from the top ten airports globally. Five are in the U.S. ATL also had the most takeoffs and landings in the world with more than 700,000.

Story 5

Peter Biello: A California-based biomedical filters manufacturer plans to build a $243 million plant in Athens. Meissner Corp. announced today that it plans to employ nearly 1,800 workers at the site by 2031. The manufacturing and research center is expected to open in stages beginning in 2026. Founded in 1984, Meisner develops medicines for cancer, the heart and the immune system.

Story 6

Peter Biello: Georgia health departments are reminding people to make sure they're still eligible for Medicaid ahead of statewide redeterminations later this month. GPB's Sofi Gratas reports on what recipients of Medicaid and PeachCare for Kids can expect.

Sofi Gratas: The programs haven't changed who qualifies; rather, states put off annual redeterminations because of the COVID-19 public health emergency. The Department of Community Health and Department of Human Services say they'll help people who no longer qualify to get enrolled in marketplace insurance or in Georgia Pathways, launching this summer. Pathways is expected to cover about 500,000 low-income adults and includes a work requirement. 2.7 million people are subject to redeterminations. Lawmakers approved $6.4 million this year to hire Medicaid caseworkers and managers with additional money in the 2024 budget. Redeterminations will continue through May of next year. For GPB News, I'm Sofi Gratas.

Story 7

Peter Biello: Some Georgia Republicans have rushed to defend former President Donald Trump following his arraignment on 34 felony counts in a Manhattan courtroom yesterday. Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who declared the former president's innocence before knowing the charges he faced, headlined a small morning rally outside the Manhattan courthouse. Other Republicans defending Trump include Congressman Andrew Clyde. He called the indictments pure political persecution but did not comment on the specific allegations. Trump's next New York court hearing will be in December.

Caption

Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Stacey Abrams speaks to reporters during a press conference on May 23rd.

Credit: Riley Bunch/GPB News

Story 8

Peter Biello: Two-time Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams has taken a faculty position at Washington D.C.'s Howard University. The historically Black college announced this morning that she'll serve as an endowed chair for race and Black politics. Abrams is a graduate of Atlanta's historically Black Spelman College. She says she looks forward to engaging Howard students about where they can influence public policy.

Caption

Two adult female loggerhead turtles were released into the surf Friday on the beach at Jekyll Island after spending nearly a year recovering at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center.

Credit: Georgia Sea Turtle Center Facebook page

Story 9

Peter Biello: A dozen sea turtles have returned to the wild after several months of being treated for injuries and illnesses on the Georgia coast. A crowd gathered yesterday morning on the beach at Jekyll Island as staff members from the Georgia Sea Turtle Center waded into the ocean with their hard-shelled patients and turned them loose in the water. Jekyll Island Center is Georgia's veterinary hospital for sick and injured sea turtles. Eight of those released were Kemp's Ridley sea turtles that arrived in November after being found cold stunned in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The other four were green sea turtles that received treatment for various ailments.

Story 10

Peter Biello: And finally, the Atlanta Braves have sold out their home opener against the San Diego Padres scheduled for tomorrow. The team says they're also sold out on Friday and Saturday, and fans could experience a packed ballpark as the season goes on. The Braves set an attendance record of more than 3 million fans last season, a record they expect to match or beat this season.

And that is it for today's edition of Georgia Today. Really appreciate you tuning in. One more thing about that sea turtle story: If you head on over to GPB.org, we've got some photos posted of the crowd gathered to watch these turtles head back into the ocean. It does not appear that these turtles can even smile, but you get the sense that they're pretty happy about what's going on. Check out those photos at GPB.org. You can also read up on the Masters golf tournament, too. and get stories about that at GPB.org. More news to come tomorrow. I will be headed to Truist Park to watch the Braves take on the San Diego Padres in the home opener. If you've got feedback for us, we'd love to hear from you. Send it to us by email. The address is GeorgiaToday@GPB.org. And don't forget to subscribe. You won't want to miss what's coming up. I'm Peter Biello. Thanks again for listening. I'll see you tomorrow.

___

GPB's Georgia Today newsletter hits your inbox on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays with top stories from around the state featuring news, politics and more. Subscribe here.